Portable baby bed



1951 D. J. MARKOWITZ 2,537,903

PORTABLE BABY BED Filed Jan. 8, 1947 DOROTHY J MAKKOW/T Z may Patented Jan. 9, 1951 UNITED'STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to baby beds and particularly to a portable baby bed in the form of a bassinet.

An object of this invention is to produce a new and improved portable baby bed which may be set up between two spaced upright members to provide a confined area where the baby may be safely confined to play or rest.

Another object is to produce a new and improved baby bed which may be folded into a small compact package for transportation from place to place and is adapted readily to be mounted between two ordinary house chairs to provide a confining space in which a small infant may be put to rest.

A further object is to produce a portable bassinet which is economically manufactured from low cost textile materials that are washable, folded into a light weight compact package, or set up between rigid end members to provide a confining space for an infant.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will hereinafter appear, and for purposes of illustration but not of limitation, embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the bassinet mounted in combination with a pair of straightbacked chairs;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view in perspective of the assembly shown in Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the assembly illustrated in Figure 1, with parts broken away more clearly to illustrate the structure.

The features embodied in this invention reside in a housing adapted to be mounted in position of use between rigid upright members and folded or wrapped into a small package when not in use. Means are provided as part of the housing for gripping the rigid upright members whereby the walls of the housing are held taut and a walled space is provided in which an infant may be placed to play or rest without fear of upsetting, harm, or escape. As a matter of convenience, the housing may be adapted to be mounted between a pair of ordinary chairs, the backs of which are engaged by the gripping means while the seats supports the underside of the housing.

Referring now to the drawings, I indicates a portable baby bed or bassinet formed of resilient textile fabrics. These fabrics ma be treated with substances for moistureproofing and, at the same time, enhancing its resiliency so that the bassinet can be harmlessly folded into a small package or placed in a washer with the family wash. The bassinet [0 preferably is in the shape of a rectangular housing with upright side walls II which are secured at their end and bottom edges to respective opposite side edges of the intermediate portion of a textile strip [2. The engaged portions of the strip I2 form the bottom 13 and the two upright end walls M of the bassinet.

The free end portions [5 of the strip 12 are folded over their respective adjacent end walls M to which they are stitched along the lateral edges to form an envelope Hi. The envelope I6 thereby is formed with approximately the same lateral dimension as that of the bassinet I0. When the envelopes it are slipped over rigid upright members which are spaced apart a distance approximately equal that of the longitudinal dimension of the bassinet l0 and are of a width corresponding to the lateral dimension of the envelope, the bed is opened up into position of use. In this position, the side walls II and end walls [4 are taut and upright and define an enclosure in which a small child may be safely placed to play or rest.

The upright members ma be formed of metal or wooden walls or posts that can be carried about with the folded bassinet for use in a yard, seashore or the like. Preferably, the upright members are chair backs l1 conveniently to be found in any home. For this purpose, the longitudinal dimension of the bassinet is selected to correspond to the distance between backs I! when a pair of ordinary house chairs I8 are brought together in facing relation. The lateral dimension of the bassinet is made approximately the same as that of the width of the ordinary chair back 11. The bassinet I0 is anchored in its mounted position in the chairs by means of ties l9 provided at the lower corners. leasably engage the adjacent leg 29 immediately below the seat 2! and resist retrograde movement of the enveloping section and bassinet.

In use, the two chairs I8 are brought together so that their forward edges are flush. The bassinet is then opened up and an envelope E slipped over each chair back [7. Ordinarily the envelope and the walls of the bassinet are of a depth corresponding to the height of the ordinary chair back. As a result, the bottom of the bassinet rests on the seats 2! of the chairs. The backs I! themselves operate to stiffen and reinforce the end wall I4 while the edges of the backs hold the sides taut in the upright position.

The disposition of forces between the bassinet These ties reand the supporting chairs is such that the bassinet is able to resist the movements of an active baby or child without danger of collapse, upsetting, and undesirable movements of parts. The two chairs provide an eight point interconnected support which receives the downward thrusts and effectively stabilizes the angular forces tending to upset the structure. The abutting relation between the inner edges of the chair seats operates to resist pivotal movement of the chairs about their adjacent inner legs 22 which results from straining one or the other of the side walls H to urge convergence of the chair backs. In this connection, the slight incline normally provided in chair backs ll operates to transmit the straining forces to the lower portion of the back where they operate merely to draw the chairs in the direction towards each other.

From the above description, it is manifest that I have invented a new and improved bassinet for a small infant or child. The bassinet may be folded into a small package to occup little space in a bag or suitcase; mounted between a pair of ordinary chairs to keep the baby close at hand in a safe and convenient bed or pen; cleaned and washed as any other textile article in the family wash, and even mounted in a yard or open field if upright members such as stakes are provided to grip the ends at spaced apart points. The portable bed is readily manufactured of low cost materials to provide an inexpensive and serviceable unit in which a child may be safely housed.

It is to be understood that numerous changes in details of construction and arrangement may be effected without departing from the spirit of the invention especially as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A portable bassinet adapted to be mounted between rigid upright members, comprising a bottom, side and end walls formed of fabric into a unitary structure, means on said end walls for engaging said upright members in a manner to maintain all of the walls in an upright position of use, said engaging means comprising an 4 enveloping portion formed by fixing a fabric along its lateral edges to the outside face of each end wall, the enveloping portions adapted to tightly fit the upright members, and means forming a part of said engaging means adapted to releasably engage said upright members for militating against inadvertent vertical movement of the walls when in position of use.

2. A portable bassinet adapted to be mounted between backs of a pair of facing straight backed chairs, said bassinet comprising bottom, side and end walls formed of fabric into a unitary structure having transverse, longitudinal and vertical dimensions approximately equal the width of the chair back, the span between chair backs and the elevation of the upper edge of the chair back from the seat respectively, an overlapping portion the width of and integral with the upper edge of each end wall, said overlapping portion forming an enveloping portion on each end wall formed by fastening each overlapping portion along its lateral edges to the outside face of the adjacent end wall, said enveloping portions being adapted to slip over respective chair backs thereby to hold the walls upright while the bottom rests on the seats, the upper end of the enveloping portion adapted to engage the upper edge of the chair back when in the enveloping position to prevent further downward movement, and ties on the lower ends of the end walls adapted releasably to engage the chairs to militate against retrograde movement from the mounted position.

DOROTHY J. MARKOVVITZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,620,660 Houston Mar. 15, 1927 2,254,939 Elias Sept. 2, 19%1 2,227,180 Falk Dec. 31, 1940 

